Air Ambulance swindler is jailed

A Tewkesbury man has been jailed for five years and three months for attempting to steal more than £2m intended to go to an Air Ambulance charity from an elderly woman’s will.

Stewart David Pearman, 75, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on charges of fraud and making a false statement on oath, having made a bid to take £2,186,079.

Back in 2015 the woman known to Pearman was diagnosed with terminal cancer, before passing away in August 2016.

Having written her will in 2014, the woman made the airborne charity her main beneficiary and left £25,000 to Pearman, who had been appointed as one of the executors of her estate.

Shortly after her death, Pearman produced a document called a ‘Letter of Wishes’ to solicitors, claiming that he was now the sole executor and the main beneficiary of the money.

Following an investigation, it was discovered that he had written the document shortly before the woman’s death, with her GP confirming that she did not have the mental capacity to do so when it was claimed to have been signed by her.

“Stewart Pearman betrayed a friendship of 25 years’ and abused his position of trust as an executor of a dying lady’s will, for his own personal benefit,” Gurminder Sanghera of the Crown Prosecution Service said.

“He dishonestly manufactured a forged ‘Letter of Wishes’ so that he would receive an extra £2m which was intended to benefit an air ambulance charity – and be used to save lives.”

Detective Constable Simon Timbrell of West Mercia Police added: “This was a despicable crime that sought to both take advantage of an incredibly vulnerable woman and deny a life-saving charity vital funds. We are very pleased the estate will be bequeathed as intended.”

Dozens of motorcycle events raise money for the lifesaving charity and just last month, Thames Valley Air Ambulance launched its Ride Out scheme where motorcyclists can raise money while riding their machines.